Is there still hope for BlackBerry? Can Lenovo make a dent in the tablet market? We don’t know the answers to these questions, but are willing to speculate wildly. This week Andy Hadfield, Simon Dingle and Steven Ambrose discuss the Lenovo K1 tablet, Samsung pulling the Tab 7.7 from its stand at IFA, the Amazon tablet, app stores and operators, iOS 5, the launch of Telkom Business Mobile, Evernote acquiring Skitch, Google shutting down old projects, and more…

The problem began, well – at the beginning. Negotiations between operators led to ridiculous roaming agreements that make the bubonic plague look like a good idea. They collectively realised that they could get away with rape by holding travelers hostage and fleecing them for cellular access.

When you get home from your travels and receive a bill that resembles Jacob Zuma’s porridge budget they will simply tell you that they can’t help because the network you were roaming on tallied your usage. Contact that network and they will guide you back to your home call centre. You get the idea.

Still today, in 2010, it is possible to travel to destinations where it will cost you more than R200 for one megabyte of data to travel from the interwebs to your mobile phone and more than R25 for one minute of voice.

I’ma say that again – over R200 for one (1) megabyte.

What the operators apparently fail to realise, however, is that while making R200 per measly megabyte is great trade when you have a captive market there are now other ways to connect.

I am currently in London where I would have to pay Vodafone UK ridiculous roaming fees despite the fact that they own the mobile network I subscribe to back home . Oh sure, I can get data for R17.50 per megabyte thanks to the ownership, but calls are still heinously expensive and even R5 per megabyte would be R4.75 too much as far as I’m concerned. Especially considering that the cost of delivering that megabyte to me is probably too small to calculate.

Instead of paying them to compromise my children’s education I have rather been making use of the many WiFi hotspots spread throughout London by BT, ex British Telecom. The BT Openzone hotspots are more plentiful than boiled peas in London and I can access them using my Internet Solutions (IS) WiFi credentials from back home. Better yet, you can pay a mere 5 pounds for a month of access to BT Openzone.

And then. Skype.

In this equation, thanks to Skype’s many charms that include the ability to call anywhere in the world at local rates and even get a landline number for people to call you on, the cellular operators make squat.

I connect to WiFi, the interwebs and Skype. No 3G. No R200 per megabyte and other nasty surprises at month end. Disintermediation in all its splendor.

BT also turns the home routers of its landline subscribers into Openzone hotspots, so I was even able to connect from a friend’s house in Windsor, outside of the city. That’s right – they don’t have Telkom here.

If I went back in time to 1995 and explained to people that the mobile phones making their way into the market around then would offer everything from email to fart applications one day in the future, but that you couldn’t use them overseas because of ridiculous roaming charges, people just wouldn’t understand.

Flying skateboards were more plausible than a reality in the 21st century where you have a mobile phone that magically carries communications through the air but you can’t use it overseas because of cost. And yet here we are.

Instead of charging reasonable roaming rates and making a modest profit our cellular networks are rather risking making nothing as more and more savvy travelers make other plans. You only have to have one horrible scare after a short business trip abroad to learn better than to use cellular access in other countries.

So until the world’s operators wake up and smell the 802.11n, I’ll say more power to Skype and companies like BT that have put WiFi everywhere we need it. And I will go to the ends to ensure that cellular operators make jack out of me while I’m overseas. If any of them are reading this: kindly stop halting our progress as a species and make it possible to communicate from anywhere. That’d be nice.

Telecommunications group Vodacom has launched its Linkbook into the SA market – a super-low price netbook that will go for R199 per month on a two-year contract, including a monthly bandwidth bundle of 300MB.

The Linkbook is running a customised Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, and ships with OpenOffice, some games and other applications. It has 2 USB ports, WiFi, a 8.9″ screen, 16GB of embedded flash storage, integrated 3G modem, webcam and a microphone. I can’t tell what processor it is running, but I’d bet it’s an Intel Atom. There is also no indication of battery life.

Vodacom says that R40 of the R199 monthly subscription is attributable to the laptop, while the remaining R159 covers network access and the 300MB data bundle. The Linkbook is exclusive to Vodacom at this stage.

Mark Levy, co-founder of Linkbook (I’m not sure if this is the same Mark Levy from Blue Label Telecoms), says, ”Linkbook is an idea whose time has come. It’s compact and highly intuitive and will bring easy-to-use wireless internet to millions.”

Levy says that users shouldn’t be mislead by the low cost of the Linkbook; “Development doesn’t stop with the hardware. We are working with a number of partners to create exciting applications and dynamic content that will further enhance our customers’ experience of the web.”

Given the price, I’d say this is a breakthrough and I look forward to getting my hands on the Linkbook to try out. I certainly hope that the education sector is paying attention as this seems like a decent solution for schools and other institutions.

The UK press are smoking something serious when they publish kak about machete gangs roaming the streets of South Africa. But an epic fight is about to break out all over the country – albeit a virtual representation thereof.

Legends of Echo is a new location-based mobile game developed by the guys at The Grid (a Vodacom subsidiary). It combines massively multiplayer online gaming with location-based services and runs exclusively on mobile phones.

The game is set in the world of Echo, which you could think of as another dimension. The online world has the same basic geography as South Africa and is loaded with real locations all around the country. Your character in the game travels around Echo either by teleporting to locations or as you travel around with your mobile phone.

You can then fight, exchange items or hang out with other characters, build your own virtual home in Echo, create and sell items, go on quests and other stuff.

Says the official launch release, “Echo is a parallel virtual universe based on the South African map. Instead of cities and skyscrapers, however, players will find rolling green fields, rocky outcrops and valleys to explore and establish their base.”

“The Echo is entirely populated by players of the game, as well as their bases. Real-world place names are still used to navigate, e.g. a player can teleport from Belville in Cape Town to Randburg in Johannesburg to battle another player.”

“The objective of the game is to become a legend of the Echo (i.e. gain enough Legend Points to appear on the high score sheet). To do this, players need to battle other players, obtain advanced weapons and other items by exploration or trade with other players.”

“The game is unique in that it mirrors real-life locations in a multiplayer environment. Interaction is always location-bound i.e. a player is battling a player in close physical proximity to him/herself.”

More details are available on the Legends of Echo website.

Legends of Echo can be played from any cellular network – although you’ll want to be in SA while playing since the game is at it’s best when you combine it with actual location. To play SMS ‘ECHO’ to 33313 (50c/SMS) or visit http://www.legendsofecho.mobi/ on your phone.

In terms of devices, Legends of Echo is currently available to S60 Symbian phones – so no BlackBerry, iPhone or Android. Yet. But it will run on most Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other Java-enabled devices.

Vincent Maher and Nic Haralambous are the clever f**kers behind Legends of Echo and I’ve invited them to (tech)5 on 5FM this Thursday to come and tell us more – so listen out for it just after 14:00.

From 1 April, Vodacom’s iPhone customers no longer have to wade through a long list of voicemails messages by calling 121 to get to the really important one that confirms that new job appointment or bond approval or marriage proposal…

Vodacom’s Visual Voicemail is a South African first voicemail management service for iPhone users, which enables customers to view their voicemail messages in a list format, including the number and time a voicemail came through, the same as with SMS or email messages.

From 1 April to 31 May, customers will be able to try out the product free of charge, while a nominal charge of only R9.99 per month will apply from 1 June. Customers who subscribe to Visual Voicemail for the first time from 1 June will get the first 30 days of their subscription free.

Vodacom iPhone users can use Visual Voicemail to read through a list of their voice messages; highlight the voicemail they want to listen to and, by enabling the speakerphone, listen, re-listen, ignore or delete voice messages in any order they please.

New and saved messages will remain in the customer’s 121 voicemail box for up to 7 days, unless the customer chooses to delete the voicemail message on their Visual Voicemail service which will automatically delete the message on 121.

Visual Voicemail will initially be available to all Contract, Prepaid and Top Up iPhone customers with iPhone Software Version 3 and higher. The service will be available on additional cellphone makes/models in the near future.

Shameel Joosub, Managing Director of Vodacom South Africa, said Visual Voicemail provides Vodacom iPhone users with an ability to, at-a-glance, view all their messages via an efficient and user-friendly interface.

“Visual Voicemail from Vodacom is a first for the South African market and will allow customers one-click access to any voicemail message in any chosen order in their mailbox. One of the great features of Visual Voicemail is that it allows customers to access messages, delete messages and compose messages, in any order they please, without dialing 121.”

iPhone customers can subscribe to Visual Voicemail by sending an SMS with ‘VVM On’ to 123 (FREE) to activate the service and ‘VVM Off’ to deactivate the Visual Voicemail service. Alternatively customers can call Vodacom’s customer care on 111, free from a Vodacom cellphone, or 082 111 from any other phone.

Good news! Thanks Vodacom.

The Desire is comparable to the Nexus One, which is manufactured by HTC and sold by Google. There are still no plans to launch the Nexus One in SA, but the Desire is a practically identical phone with the same 3.7″ AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and, most importantly, Android 2.1 operating system that you’ll find on the Nexus One.

The only real difference between the two is that the Nexus One is a quad-band device that supports WCDMA and associated American network frequencies, while the Desire is a dual-band GSM (with HSDPA) handset. The Desire also beats the Nexus One for battery life, apparently.

The Legend is a smaller smartphone with a slower processor (600MHz compared to 1GHz on the Desire). It also runs Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense user interface.

It is uncertain at this stage what the new HTC devices will cost in South Africa or which networks will carry them – but since Vodafone carries both the Desire and Legend in the UK I think it’s safe to say that Vodacom will have both available on contract.

HTC faces legal charges from rival Apple who has accused the former of patent-infringement. Analysts have predicted that HTC will have to place new products on the back-burner until the dispute is settled. The Desire and Legend are firm competitors for Apple’s iPhone, which continues to dominate the touchscreen smartphone market.

On Wednesday Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced his company’s latest creation to the world – the iPad. With a 9.7″ capacitive touchscreen and an operating system similar to the iPhone, the iPad has been designed to fill the gap between smartphones and laptops. On a technological level the device is amazing. Equally amazing is the deal Apple has struck with AT&T in the USA to offer 3G data at $14.99 per month for 250MB and $29.99 for unlimited bandwidth. But I’m not convinced that the gap the iPad fills exists for all but a small niche of computer users at this stage.

Steve Jobs pointed out that in order to fill this gap a device would have to be better at things like browsing the web and consuming digital media than a smartphone or a laptop. He added that, in this regard, netbooks had fallen short. And I agree with him.

The iPad apparently does all of these, and then some, better than any laptop or smartphone. But there are also a number of things it doesn’t do at all. And, for this reason, I don’t think the iPad will often leave the house with many of its early adopters.

I use myself as example; I have a 13″ Macbook, an iPhone 3GS and a menagerie of iPods that I have accumulated. When I travel I take my Macbook and iPhone with me. I use the laptop to write articles, browse the web, record and edit audio, produce video – the list goes on. The more demanding of these tasks, especially in audio and video, the iPad will not handle.

The iPhone I use as a phone, navigation device and pocket computer. It Geotags the photos I take with my Nikon D90 and I use it to watch television series and movies. It’s also an iPod, email client, Skype phone and other things. But it must fit into my pocket and it must be a phone. The iPad does neither.

If I was to buy an iPad it would stay at home. I couldn’t justify taking it with me on a trip instead of my Macbook, or my iPhone, because it doesn’t cover all of the bases. And I sure as hell am not going to lug around a third device – it may be better than anything else at browsing the web and watching videos, but not so good that I’d have it in my backpack along with my Macbook, which does a perfectly decent job of web browsing and video.

iBooks, the book store that Apple has added to its digital content offering, looks amazing – but I’m sure it’ll be available, and perfectly usable, on the iPhone too.

I can imagine someone with less demanding computing needs replacing their laptop with the iPad, especially considering the add-on keyboard accessory, and out-of-the-box compatibility with Bluetooth keyboards. I also foresee mobile processors becoming powerful enough in the future to enable tablet devices to replace laptops completely – but we aren’t there yet.

The 10 hour battery life will be a major advantage to people who can justify carrying around the iPad instead of a laptop – and for someone who has to endure long-haul flights fairly regularly, this is the only feature that would convince me to chuck the iPad in my bag.

There is a bigger picture to consider, however. The iPad is the beginning of a new chapter in computing. The tablet form-factor is going to have a big impact on everything from television to education. But it’s early days. Apple deserves credit for developing a technological marvel – and the price, starting at $499 in the US, will make it irresistible for tech enthusiasts and fans of the brand.

I foresee initial sales predominantly focused on the entry-level, WiFi device. It’ll hit the shelves a month before the 3G version and because most early adopters will be technology enthusiasts, will be home-bound while its owners favour beefier devices on the go.

In South Africa I expect we’ll see the device along with the rest of the world in 60 days – but it remains uncertain who its distributor will be. Core is the company that distributes all of Apple’s products in South Africa, except for the iPhone which is handled by cellular company Vodacom.

Then there’s the question of price – and the iPad will be subject to the same taxes and margins that the iPod Touch is, being a similarly classed device. The entry-level model should go for about R5000 in South Africa – anything more would be criminal.

According to Leaf the phone will only be available to contract customers on the Vodacom network and via Altech Autopage Cellular, but it can be purchased at retail for an estimated price of R6700.

The Hero has all of the features one would expect from a modern smartphone including a 5 megapixel camera, 7 customisable home-screens, a 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G HSPA.

The Android market is hotting up and it is expected that there will be over 20 devices running the operating system available before Christmas 09. The Hero is the most fully-featured Android phone to date.

The iPhone 3G experienced a similar supply problem which, we are told, is a simple side-effect of overwhelming demand. The 3G ran out of stock shortly after launch and it took Apple weeks to restore a steady supply internationally. This time it’s worse.

The current shortage is being reported in Australia, the USA and most other markets where the 3GS has been launched. In the US Apple has released a widget that becomes available during shortages and can be used to track availability at stores. This was recently disabled, however, which suggests that supply challenges are being alleviated.

I suspect that some demand creation could also be responsible for the wait, whereby Apple trickles stock into the market building up some hype and the impression of exclusivity along the way.

Whether sheer over-demand or intended trickle supply it is reasonable to expect the issue to be sorted out soon. That said, I suspect that when Vodacom does receive stock it will be snapped up quickly, so you might want to get your details down with a supplier if you plan on buying a 3GS.

The following is a guide for setting up a Huawei cellular USB modem on a Mac. It will work with any cellular network, any APN and does not require any third-party connection software. Just your Mac, OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard (10.5+ or 10.6+), and a Huawei modem with an active SIM card for the network you are connecting to.

Huawei provides a range of modems allowing users to connect to cellular networks and the Internet using GPRS, EDGE, 3G and HSPA technologies. I use the Huawei E220, but this setup should work with any Huawei USB modem.

The network I use most regularly is Vodacom in South Africa that provides special software, provided by parent company Vodafone, that facilitates connecting with the modem on a Mac.

However, being a tech journalist and someone who travels a lot, I have a container full of SIM cards for international networks and other service providers I am testing out including MTN, Internet Solutions and Wireless-G’s GConnect service.

The basic settings for all the networks I have tried are the same, but they often use different access point names (APNs) which require specific software for specification. Apple OS X Leopard has drivers and all the required settings built-in. They’re just buried.

The following are the steps I have used to set up the modem with my Mac. This will only work with OS X Leopard – earlier versions, such as Tiger, will not work.

1. Remove the SIM PIN. This requires putting your SIM card in a phone and finding the setting to remove the PIN. If you are using an iPhone this setting is under Phone -> SIM PIN. This step is required as there is no way for OS X to send a PIN to your modem. If you are worried about security and don’t want to remove the PIN then stop here. You’ll need special software for your modem and this guide is not for you. Once you have removed the PIN, put the SIM card back in your Huawei.
2. Uninstall third-party software. This may not be necessary, but some software will force settings for your modem and interfere with your setup. Uninstalling it makes sure your settings will stick.
3. Install drivers for Snow Leopard. This is only necessary if you use OS X 10.6 or later – Leopard (10.5) users should ignore this step. Download these drivers from Huawei and install them.
4. Plug in your Huawei modem. It goes in the USB port
5. Open System Preferences and go to ‘Network’.
6. Your Huawei modem should be listed in the pane on the left of the window. If it isn’t, click on the + and select your modem from the ‘Interface’ drop down menu. Then click on ‘Create’.
7. Highlight the Huawei modem in the pane on the left and select ‘Advanced’.
8. Change vendor to ‘Generic’. In the drop down menu, select ‘generic’ as the vendor and set ‘Model’ to ‘GPRS (GSM/3G)’. Now ‘APN’ will appear and you can specify whatever your network needs it to be. For most this will just be ‘Internet’ but it varies, especially with network partners like Wireless-G or Internet Solutions. After entering your APN (and other network settings should they be required) click on ‘OK’.
9. Set telephone number and credentials. This step might require some experimenting. Click on ‘Apply’ and then enter the Telephone Number. This will be *99# for most cellular networks, but could also be *99***1# depending on your location. For Vodacom I find that *99***1# works in most areas. But there are other numbers available, up to 4 (*99***4#) so try them all to find the one that works best for you. Usernames and passwords are not required on Vodacom or MTN, but are required for other networks, so make sure you have the right details.
10. Show modem in status bar. This is just a preference I have, so that I can easily connect without having to go into System Preferences.

And you’re done. If all went according to plan then you should now be able to just plug in your modem, wait for it to initiate and then connect without any extra software required.

You might also want to grab an awesome little app called CheetahWatch that shows signal strength, provides usage tracking and a bunch of other useful features for Huawei modems on Mac.